I wanted to share with you a game that doesn’t get much recognition compared to the bigger, flashier titles that are on the eShop. That game is none other than the bright and colorful Color Zen.

Nintendo was nice enough to give back a bit of money to their fans for supporting the Wii U with the Wii U Deluxe promotion. I received a few coins myself and decided to visit the Nintendo eShop and see what Indie games I could snag up. I got quite a few games, but I wanted to share one that doesn’t get much recognition compared to the bigger, flashier titles that are on the eShop. That game is none other than the bright and colorful Color Zen.

Color Zen is a simplistic puzzle game that uses bright colours and shapes as your puzzle solving tools. By matching the colours next to one another, you will have to figure out which ones goes with which, in order to get through each puzzle. The twist to this game is that the last layered colour in the background has to be the last colour you used, for example, if its light blue, make sure your last two shapes are light blue.

The difficulty will keep on increasing after each puzzle completed with more levels that will keep you on your toes. The levels never gets overly complex, but it does have a nice pace to how you progress throughout the game. This pace keeps a relaxing feel to the game, which is nice, and you can’t complain when the game offers you x amount of levels to go through.

The Wii U GamePad is the main feature of the game as they used the touchpad capabilities as the only way to navigate through the whole game. It is certainly nice to see Indies utilizing the GamePad in such a way, and it fits perfectly into this title. Dragging your finger to connect shapes and pieces together works like a charm and the controls run smoothly without any issues.

For how bright and colourful the game is, it does fall flat visually. This disappointment is an odd thing to say about a game that is based on colours alone, but there wasn’t any pizzaz or cool effects to go with it. Again, this is just me complaining, but it felt like the visuals were just taken out of the paint program and copy-pasted onto the game.

On the other hand, the soundtrack is very well orchestrated. The therapeutic lullabies will make you feel relaxed and unwind very easily. It is fun to come to after a long days work or school. Listening in on the great soothing music to go along with the colourful visuals was one of the better surprises from the Indie game.

When I picked up Color Zen, it was only for 1.79$ on the Nintendo eShop and it was quite a steal. The game offers an array of levels, 460 to be exact. Each and every one of the levels is different from the next with many designs and new ways to solve puzzles. What’s even better is that the levels aren’t long so you can get right through each of them quite easily. It is great to be able to sit down for a few minutes and be able to zoom through a few levels at a time without having to dive into an epic story to go along with it. Sometimes its just better to keep it simple and not have to have to follow narratives.

Color Zen is a good alternative to take time off of heavier gaming adventures or simply just for winding down. This game’s bright but therapeutic visuals will calm your mind through every puzzle. However, the game does lack in additional detailing in its design. I would highly recommend Color Zen for anybody looking for a more compact sit down experience.

This review is based on the Wii U version of Color Zen. The game is also available on the 3DS, Androids and iOS.

The Verdict

Gameplay: 6.5

While the puzzle are diversified, it still become somehow repetitive

Presentation: 6.3

It miss flashier presentation and looks like something that came out of paint.

Value: 6.3

460 levels is a lot, but those take only a few minutes of your time. It is at least not costy.